


To Tread the Beaten Path

by MackdotCom



Category: Laramie (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, First Kiss, First time (One chapter only, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Laramie - Freeform, Love, M/M, Romance, slash fic, there will be warnings!)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-17 13:17:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18099254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MackdotCom/pseuds/MackdotCom
Summary: The community of people who see Slim and Jess as a couple seems pretty small, or maybe its just that people aren't comfortable enough writing about them. Either way, I think it's clear to some people that because of the domesticities between them and relationship between Slim and Jess, they are a very couply couple. The way they act around one another and stick together makes them work very well as lovers. Neither stays with a woman for more than an episode, and eventually other love interests just fade away as they raise Mike with the help of Daisy.Basically, if you don't see Slim and Jess as a perfect pair, you might not want to read this. But if you do, you're in for a treat. :)





	1. Stormy Skies

**Author's Note:**

> Author's notes on 'Laramie':
> 
> The very first time I saw Laramie on Grit, I was enamoured. I like westerns, I like em a lot, I watch plenty of Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, and other southern based wholesome shows like Andy Griffith and so on. 
> 
> But Laramie took hold as my New favourite quickly, a lot of action and a good storyline to the episode. Not to mention the two main characters were real lookers. 
> 
> But that's not the main reason, I loved the show because the dialogue was good, and the storylines were pretty solid. As we all know, back in this time the movies sucked and the shows were gold. The acting was best on TV. 
> 
> Then comes a scene where Jess and Slim are talking, it's pretty normal, except that in this particular scene they're just inside the barn, and no one else is there. I didn't think much of that until something caught my eye. Jess' eyes, to be exact. The whole time he's talking to Slim his eyes aren't staying on Slim's eyes, they aren't even just occasionally going to his lips (like any person's does since its both audio and visual senses that help us know what someone is saying, everyone will look at the other persons mouth occasionally when they're talking because that's just how conversations work) 
> 
> No, his eyes were all over Slim. Up and down, over and over. I'm watching this, and I go "hold on a minute."  
> I pause live TV (since I use Dish), pulled out my phone and zoom in on the screen. I back it up a little and hit record on my phone. I send the snippet of video to my friend. 
> 
> "Notice anything?" I text. I want to make sure its not just me. Keep in mind, this is a friend who doesn't ever ship anything. She just doesn't like it. 
> 
> She sends back a bunch of laughing emojis and one word: "GAY!" 
> 
> I send back the same emojis, and in a few seconds she sends "Seriously though, lookit how that shorter one keeps looking at the other dude. He's so clearly checking him out. What show is that?" 
> 
> And since then, as I watch the show, it'll seem like a normal western until its just Slim and Jess doing their thing, and I think to myself "WOW they're so married." 
> 
> So when I found Slim/Jess Fanfic on here, I KNEW I had to join. Especially since it's so rare, I have to add to this little community. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

"Woah, woah, steady!"

Even in the dark, despite the pouring rain, Jess could see how frantic the beast was. Could see the whites of its eyes as it reared and kicked and tried to flee. It was as terrified as him.

He knew there was no way this would work if he didn't calm down too. So he closed his eyes, and took a breath, then put a hand on the horse's warm muzzle. "Look at me," He all but whispered, and somehow that worked, the horse stood still save for a few short head jerks.

"We have to do this, okay? We gotta get Slim out of there," Jess took another breath and forced his own panic down for Traveller's sake, he knew the animal would only respond to him if it knew he was certain about what they were doing here.

"There you go, atta boy. Here we go," he tugged on the reigns, this time filled with purpose rather than fear, "Pull!"

Traveller responded immediately, hooves sticking forcefully into the mud slick ground, being pulled by Jess, breathing heavily as it tugged and pulled and stomped, but all the time making progress. Never losing his footing, unlike Jess who occasionally slipped, but was back up in an instant shouting encouragement to his horse, and somewhat to himself, yelling things like "That's it!" And "Almost got it!" Between grunts and tugs on the horse. Lightning split the sky and brought with it the drums of thunder, which shook loose heavier rain. But Jess didn't care, and because he wasn't startled by it, Traveller paid no mind to it. One in the same, man and his horse.

Painstakingly, they pulled the wreckage up and up, over the short cliff. Surely, this was a job for more than one horse, and in that moment Jess was reminded again of just how much he loved this beast, and all the hard times it had gotten him through. Now, though, it was proving just how helpful it could also be to the most important person, Jess' best friend, the man he'd take a bullet for without a second guess,

"Slim!" Jess called, the broken wagon was finally up and far from the edge on the mountainside, safely pulled off of his partner.

There was no response. Jess cussed, and turned away from the edge. He untied the wreckage where he had secured it to a busted wheel, still leaving one end tied to the horse, and used the rope to slide down to Slim.

"Slim," Jess said again, turning the man over onto his back and gripping his arm, shaking him. "Cmon pard, wake up."

Nothing.

Jess maneuvered the other man so that he sat up against the ledge's side, and tied the rope around his chest, under his arms.

"Alright Mister," Jess muttered, mostly to himself, as he made sure the rope was completely secure. "Let's get out of here and back to Laramie."

Jess took hold of the rope and climbed up using all his remaining strength, determined not to lose his footing in the slippery mud. It was up to him to get them out of this alive, and dammit, he wouldn't slip up now. Fueled mainly by the fear that Slim wouldn't make it if he took a second too long, he had made his way up to and over the edge of the small cliff in minutes. God, did his hands hurt, burned from the rope and the sheer tight grip he'd used as not to slip once. But he didn't care, didn't bother to focus on how muddied he was, how soaked and cold he felt, those things just plain didn't matter. The adrenaline, though, was all he really felt as he got up to his feet and stumbled over to his horse, calling out a "Hya!" Loud enough that the horse recognised the command over the pouring rain and howling winds.

Before he'd even made it over, the horse was already pulling Slim up the side with much more ease than he'd had with the destroyed wagon. Damn, the wagon, all those supplies lost before they'd ever had a chance to get back to town. And Slim's horse, somehow gotten unhooked and fightened off in the tumble, Jess never would have had a chance to get it back. All that mattered was that Slim had gotten crushed under the wagon when the horse lost its footing and fell over the relatively small cliff. Jess had been riding behind separately, he watched it all happen, but there was nothing he could do except pull Slim out once it was all over and done with.

So he had, he watched over the side as Traveller tugged him up and up and up, and as soon as he could without falling over himself, Jess grabbed ahold of Slim and helped get him the rest of the way up.

Jess was breathing heavily, exhausted, but he still wasn't done. He kneeled above his friend, and leaned down to listen...

A heartbeat. The same rush of relief Jess had felt many times over his life washed over his body, and he welcomed it like an old friend. With a small prayer of thanks he sat back up and was getting ready to lug Slim over his shoulder and get him onto the horse when another bolt of lightning raced across the dark sky, in the brief light Jess could see the wound across Slim's head. He was bleeding, a lot. There was the thunder again. Without much thought, Jess untucked his undershirt and ripped a cloth from it, he used one hand to lift Slim's head as he got the cloth around it. Once he had tied it, he picked Slim up, getting him onto the back of the horse like a sack of potatoes.

Tired, Jess was so tired. He ached, he was cold. He could collapse right there and sleep for an eternity.

Slim.

He had to get Slim to town. That was his only task in the world.

Untie the rope from Traveller, wrap it around. Now Slim wouldn't fall off.

Jess mentally picked himself up and mounted his horse.

Stay awake, get to town. Help Slim.

He pressed his heels into Traveller's sides, and they were off.

__________

 

There was a frantic banging on the door, it didn't stop, it persisted and persisted, loud and harsh and almost angry.

"Yes, alright, al _right_!" The doctor grabbed his glasses from their usual resting place and put them on, stumbling through the dark to get to the door. He opened it sharply, and was half ready to chew out whoever was making such a racket at this hour, when a tall figure pushed past him and into the room.

He heard some sort of a thud, and he walked over to light one of the oil lanterns.

"What in all God's creation-" he started to demand as he turned away from the lantern, but then he recognised the man who had been laid out on the table, and of course put the pieces together on who had carried Slim Sherman into his office.

"What happened?" The doctor asked, and old habit and reflexes took over as he examined all parts that rang alarms and said to him _'this isn't right!'_

"Fell over a cliff, our wagon fell on him. His head's bleedin', don't know what else could be hurt so I brought him here first thing."

"Yes, well, it was good of you to do that. His ribs are busted here, and his shoulder ain't about to feel too good come morning." The doctor felt around for any other damage, examined Slim's legs, luckily nothing was out of place there. "It's a good thing you bandaged his head when you did, it stopped the bleeding," he commented as he lifted the mud and water soaked cloth off. "Definitely would've bled out on the way here." He shook his head. "Do me a favor, Jess, and in that drawer behind you will you get the bandages and scissors, as well as the tape?"

While Jess gathered these things, the doctor turned to another counter and grabbed some alcohol. After a few minutes of disinfecting and properly wrapping the wound in clean bandages, he instructed "Now, help me hold him down, I have to set his shoulder..."

"Alright," Jess did so, walking over to lean over Slim, standing in front of his head. He watched silently as the doctor got Slim's arm into position, and _pulled_.

There was a crack, almost immediately Slim cried out and tried to sit up. There was a lurch in his gut, but Jess kept him down.

"Keep still, Slim," Jess hissed quietly, looking down at Slim's face which was scrunched up in a grimace. He reached over to grab at his shoulder and opened his eyes slightly, dazed.

"Jess?" He asked, his voice was strained.

"Yeah, I'm right here," Jess smiled slightly. If he were truly honest, he was afraid Slim would be much worse off than this.

Slim closed his eyes again and reached to where the bandages were, and mumbled something along the lines of " _Oh... my head..._ " Then he looked back to Jess. "Wh-" He swallowed and did his best to clear his throat, groaning when that clearly upset his ribs. "What happened?"

Before Jess had much of a chance to answer, the doctor had come back over with a tonic and some extra bandages, which he handed to Jess.

"Don't let him move around too much, and don't feel the need to wrap up his ribs. He'll need to take it easy for a few days in order for them to heal up. He can have this-" he said, lifting the tonic and then giving that to Jess as well "-twice a day, it'll help with the pain."

Just as Jess was about to ask, he was cut off before he could start.

"Yes, he can get up and move around, no he shouldn't be doing much. Definitely no heavy work, and no horse riding. It's best if he's either laying down or standing upright."

Jess chuckled a little and gave Slim a soft pat on his good shoulder, "Y'hear that, Slim? Looks like I'm stuck with the chores for a while," He mused. 

Slim's response was just a small smirk, his eyes were closed again, and he looked like he was half asleep.

"Keep an eye on that head, I don't think a concussion is a problem, but just in case call for me if you think it's gone bad."

"Thanks doc," Jess sighed, finally he could relax. 

"Mmhm," the doctor grumbled, "now get outta here and let me sleep."

By this point, Jess might as well have been sleepwalking. He propped Slim up against his side and wrapped his good arm around Jess' shoulders, it was easier just to walk a few steps toward the hotel than get on a horse again.

Something had mercy for them, because the clerk had fallen asleep at the desk and was able to get them room keys right then and there. Jess practically dragged Slim up to his room, got him positioned a little better than sideways on the bed, and promptly passed out there beside him, damned be the extra room.


	2. Sunrise

Light.

Jess cringed against the light, but it woke him up. Slowly he blinked, and turned his head toward the source. The window.

This wasn't home, slowly he recalled the mayhem he barely got through, remembered nearly falling asleep but forcing himself to get though it and get Slim safe.

Slim, speaking of, was snoring away right next to Jess. He turned his head the other way only to come face to face with the man. Jess felt a small rush go through his chest, he allowed himself to study Slim's features for just a moment. Followed the line of a scar on the left side of his face. Then his eyes wandered up to the bandages on his head, there was dried blood that had soaked through them in the night.

Jess sighed quietly, and sat up, getting off the bed. He carefully shifted Slim so that he was laying lengthwise with the bed, then he fumbled with his pockets for a moment before finding the extra bandages Doc Sweeney had given him. He made a mental note to go back to the Doc's office and pay for his services. A mere few minutes later and the wound on Slim's head had been cleaned up and freshly wrapped again. Jess had sat on the edge of the bed while doing all of this, and lingered for a few seconds, looking over Slim with furrowed eyebrows as he worried subconsciously about a concussion, like the doctor had said.

His concluding thought was that it would be fine, that Slim was tough and had gotten through worse. He thought back to a time when he had been poisoned by someone they thought could be trusted, he somewhat remembered Slim leaning over him just the same as Jess was now. He huffed through his nose, ' _Silly_ ', he thought, ' _worryin' so much over this'._

Just as Jess was getting ready to get up from the bed, a sound came from Slim. Jess turned back, at full attention. Sure enough, Slim was waking up. After his eyes had opened, Slim's gaze travelled across the room in confusion until they settled on Jess, and the confusion was replaced with familiarity.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Hotel, I couldn't make it all the way to the ranch," Jess answered, reaching up to place a hand on Slim's arm. "How ya feelin'?"

Slim grunted, closing his eyes for a second while raising his eyebrows, "Like I been dragged all over the Earth," he looked at Jess again while laughing a little.

Jess smiled back, "I figured as much, you practically were."

Slim's smile faded just slightly, "The wagon..." he started.

Shaking his head, Jess squeezed Slim's arm slightly, "Busted up back on the trail, couldn't do nothin' 'cept get you out."

"Out?"

"Yeah, it landed on you."

There was a pause.

"... Truth be told, Slim, I thought for just a minute there you might be dead," Jess sighed shakily, "Don't think I ever been so panicked in my life." He admitted as he turned away, one arm moved so that it rested on his leg while his other hand scrubbed down his face. He almost jumped when a hand found its way on his forearm.

"You okay, at least? Didn't get hurt too, did you?" Slim asked.

Jess shrugged, "Couple scratches here n' there, nothin' to complain about," He faced back to give the other a reassuring smile. "And you'll be fine," he added, "Can't do any work for a while since your ribs are healing, but that's it." This reminded Jess of the tonic Sweeney had handed to him, he got up and rummaged through his pockets again until he found the bottle, then turned and handed it to Slim.

"Better take a swig of that," he offered, "Twice a day the Doc said, should help the pain."

The look on Slim's face was unfiltered gratefulness. Jess held him up with an arm around his back as he helped the other sit up and take a dose. Then he slowly laid him back down and set the tonic on the bedside table. Then he stood, and did his best to unruffle his clothes, being reminded of his torn shirt.

"Where you goin'?" Slim questioned.

"Just over to Doc Sweeney's, kinda owe him for last night. And I gotta pay for the hotel rooms."

Slim hummed in response, seeming to already want sleep again. Jess felt a small smile twitch on his face, "You just rest easy now, hit your head pretty good, you'll be needing it," Just as he was opening the door, he added "When I get back we'll head to the ranch, Daisy'll be more'n happy to take care of you while I work my back off."

Slim laughed at that, a great thing to hear as Jess left the room.

__________

 

The trip to the ranch was more stressful than Jess had anticipated. The doctor had said Slim shouldn't be on a horse, but how else were they going to get there? Every time Slim made a sound that spelled out discomfort, Jess felt his heart sink a little more. Slim's arms were wrapped around Jess' torso, holding on as they blazed down the familiar path. Jess was pushing Traveller, he knew, almost too hard, and something in the back of his mind said he'd reward the horse just as soon as they got home, as soon as they put Slim into bed. Right now, though, he just wanted to hurry, wanted to stop Slim's pain as quick as possible. 

When the building became visible over the horizon, Jess could feel a small wave of relief for Slim's sake. 

"Almost there, pard," He said, hoping somehow it would ease his friend a little, "Just hold on."

Once there, Jess helped Slim off the horse. Jess had one arm around Slim while the other hand held his arm, and Slim leaned against him as they made their way to the door. Opening said door, while supporting someone else, was a task all its own. Jess managed it, and once inside he was greeted by the sight of Daisy. She was turned away from them as she cleaned some dishes. 

"Hiya Daisy," Jess greeted her as he walked right, toward their bedroom. Daisy nearly dropped the pan she was scrubbing and whirled around. 

"Oh, Jess!" She brought a hand up to her chest, her eyes shut and head rolled back, she laughed a little. "You scared the daylights out of me. I thought you were Mike-" She cut herself off halfway through the words once she noticed the state Slim was in as he was being taken through the doorway, and quickly followed them into the bedroom. 

"Oh my," she fussed, looking over him as Jess laid him down, "What on earth happened?"

Jess recited everything to her, from the fall to the hotel, though he left out the part about ending up sleeping in the same bed. After all, it wasn't an important detail. 

"Twice a day?" She confirmed, looking to the bottle of tonic as Jess sat it on the bedside table. 

"Yes ma'am," He said, he looked to Slim, who was already asleep again. "He'll sleep a lot thanks to the bump on his head, but the Doc said he'll be fine." 

Daisy nodded, "We'll have him up and walking in a few days, I'm sure. A lot of your stubbornness has rubbed off on him," she quipped, smiling at Jess before leaving the room to finish the dishes. 

Jess huffed a small laugh as she left the room, then stayed for a few seconds to look over Slim. He didn't really want to leave his side, but there were chores to do, and the stageline would be coming in today. With one final glance to his partner, Jess left, and went on to work.

___________

 

Finally, the day came to a close. Despite the work done by Mike, Daisy, and surely some assistance from neighbors, there had been a lot to catch up on for Jess. He did it with little complaint, though, knowing Slim would soon want nothing more than to be out there with him doing the work. Jess knew if he complained now, he would feel guilty for it when Slim insisted on doing something to help only to be told he shouldn't.

He wandered inside, tired, but content with the work he'd done for the day. He found Mike and Daisy getting ready to sit down to supper. Mike smiled at Jess when he sat down, too, and fired off a mile a minute about all the things that happened while he and Slim were away. Jess listened, smiling and laughing at the stories, even exclaiming "No kiddin'?" once or twice. It was good to see that Mike was fine, not once did he ask how Slim was, which lead Jess to believe Daisy had already spoken to Mike. 

What Mike did ask, however, was "Is Slim gonna join us?" 

There was a small moment of silence where Jess and Daisy exchanged looks.

"No, not tonight, Tiger," Jess answered with a small smile, "Y'see, he hurt his chest while we were gone, so he just wants to lay down for now." 

That seemed to satisfy the boy, until, "But what's he gonna eat then?" 

Jess chuckled, and leaned over to ruffle the boy's hair, "I'll bring him something in a minute, don't you worry about it."

After a few more minutes of conversation, Jess decided he wasn't all that hungry. He excused himself, and prepared a bowl of stew to bring to Slim as he said he would. To his surprise, Slim was awake, propped up by a couple of pillows while reading a book. Slim looked over, and smiled, then took a second to bend the corner of the page he was reading as a bookmark before closing it and putting his full attention on Jess. 

"Hey there, cowboy," Slim smirked, then nodded his head to gesture at Jess, "You look rough," he commented. Jess looked down, and saw that he was referring to his dirty and torn clothes, he still hadn't changed out of them since they got into town. He looked back up, and could see in Slim's face that he was still somewhat drowsy, but was stubbornly trying to stay awake, as if it would make him heal quicker. 

With his own amused smile, Jess retorted "You don't look s'good yourself, sleeping beauty." He made his way over, and sat the bowl on the table as Slim barked a laughed at the name, only to regret it and reach for his ribs. Jess shook his head and placed a hand on Slim's shoulder. Once he'd recovered, Jess helped him prop up a little more, and then handed him the stew. When Slim assured him that he could take it from there, Jess turned and sat on his own bed. He watched mindlessly as Slim ate a few spoonfuls. 

"So, what book're you readin'?" Jess asked after a minute or so. Slim, somewhat startled by the sudden break in silence, fumbled with the spoon just enough to drip a little of the stew down his chin. Jess tried not to laugh, and in the background he heard Daisy tell Mike it was time to get ready for bed. Slim used the back of his hand to wipe away the mess, then picked up the book and tossed it over to Jess. 

"Butcher's Crossing," Slim replied, finally. "Got it as a gift from Andy maybe... A year ago?" He recollected, shrugging with a small smile. "The kid likes books," he added before he went back to eating. 

Jess frowned slightly, in thought, as he looked the book over, examining the drawing of a buffalo and two rifles in the shape of a cross. He then flipped through some pages. "Kind of a weird title," Jess thought aloud, "What's it about?" He asked.

"As far as I've gotten, its some student who decides to go off and explore the west," Slim replied, slurping down the last spoonful. "It's a pretty good time killer in my opinion, you should read it sometime," he offered, holding the empty bowl.

Jess smiled, and got up, he traded the book for the bowl and commented "Maybe I will," before leaving the room. He came back bowlless, and helped Slim sit up on the edge of the bed. Then helped him when he needed while getting undressed and into sleeping clothes. Afterward, Jess did so himself, and soon after melted into his bed. It'd been a long, long day. Still, despite knowing Slim was fine, Jess found himself waking up through the night and looking over to check on his partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, not much happened in this one, but I feel like all the little details are what make it come to life and keep the story alive. Slim still has to recover, and I still have to figure out the rest of the story. So sit tight while I work on chapter 3 and brainstorm the rest.
> 
> And please, if you see a typo or anything at all, let me know. It'd be a shame if I spent hours on this, only for it to be full of knots! :)


	3. Fallen Again

 Everything was wrong.

At one point in the night, during one of those moments where Jess found himself awake and checking on Slim, it turned out that his worry wasn't for nothing. Jess had stirred in his sleep, and immediately woke up for what had to be the hundredth time that night, and turned over to look at his friend.

A strike of fear went through him as he got up, seeing Slim breathing heavily, turning and shivering as he lay there. In the dim light, Jess could see the sweat that had begun to cover his body. In a moment Jess was a Slim's side, one hand placed on Slim's chest for balance as the other moved the bandages away, and felt his forehead.

Fever.

_Infection_.

More panic.

How cruel it was, that just when Jess had been convinced Slim would be fine enough to walk to the kitchen by tomorrow, instead he'd gotten worse in what felt like the drop of a pin. Jess hurried to get the water basin filled, and used a cloth to clean at the gash on Slim's head. Tried to keep his hands still as he wiped away some of the dirt that was still on Slim's face from the fall, why the Hell hadn't they taken care of that last night? Jess rinsed the cloth and placed it on Slim's head in an attempt to cool him down. As his hand stayed there to hold the cloth in place, he tried to straighten out his mind.

What should he do next? There was no call to get the doctor, he knew what was going on and how to take care of it, after all. Maybe he should wake Daisy so she could help keep an eye on Slim through the night, in case he got worse.

Yeah, that sounded like the right thing to do. After bringing his hand down from Slim's forehead, stopping only to cup his jaw for a lingering second, Jess stood and briskly made his way over to Daisy's door with a quick knock. Trying to keep in mind that Mike would be asleep, he called to her in as quiet of a voice as he could manage.

"Daisy, wake up. Slim's got a fever," He could hear shuffling from inside, and knew he had successfully woken her up. He stepped back in time for the door to open and reveal a frazzled Daisy, wordlessly walking out and quickly going to their bedroom with Jess right behind her.

__________

 

The whole day, Jess was distracted and exhausted from the lack of sleep. Luckily, Slim hadn't gotten any worse through the night, but that didn't seem to help the fact that Jess wanted nothing more than to stay by Slim's side and know for sure how he was doing at any given second.

Once he'd finally, _finally_ , finished all the work for the day, Jess went toward the house. He took only a second to roll up his sleeves and wash his face, to spread water back to his neck in order to cool off. Then he went inside, drying his hands off on his shirt, and practically ignored Daisy and Mike as he strode into the bedroom.

Slim was still shivering, still covered in sweat, but the cloth on his head was new and clean. The bottle of tonic had even less of the liquid inside of it. Jess knew Daisy had been taking care of him in between her other tasks. Slowly, Jess knelt down beside Slim's bed, felt something in his chest clutch as he looked at the other man's face. Jess' eyes then travelled down to his neck, and then his arms, which still had mud dried on them. Everything had been so chaotic, they still hadn't cleaned that off.

Jess reached up, and placed a hand on Slim's arm for a moment, then leant forward and grabbed the cloth from his head.

"Seems to me you could use a little clean up," Jess muttered softly, quiet enough that the words almost didn't exist. He dipped the cloth in the water, then squeezed it a little, watching as the water dripped out and trilled against the bowl. He then gently took hold of Slim's arm, and began to uniformly wipe away the muck. He did this with as many spots as he could reach, from Slim's arms to his neck, and even part way down his chest. Occasionally, Jess would rinse and ring out the material, then smooth Slim's hair back and dab the cleanest spot of the cloth along his head. All the while, Jess rambled quietly about the work that had been done that day, admitted how he had worried the whole time. At one point he half-jokingly reprimanded Slim for being sick, since it was interfering with his chores. Said he'd better get well, or Jess would kick his rear end. He wasn't sure how much of it, if at all, Slim could hear, but it was comforting in a way. It was nice to talk to Slim, and know he was there.

Once Slim was cleaned up enough to satisfy Jess, he left to replace the water and clean off the rag from the dirt that had collected on it. Then, he went back to the room, he placed the cloth neatly on Slim's head again. Jess stayed there for a while, at one point deciding to Hell with everything as he placed his hand on Slim's, eventually rubbing his thumb over the skin there.

Jess wasn't sure how long he'd stayed there, but it was long enough that his knees ached and the sun had begun to sink below the ground.

__________

 

Jess sat in his chair out in the main room, reading the book Slim had offered to him to read just the previous night. He finds, however, that he's not able to concentrate as his eyes read and re-read sections, never seeming to absorb the story being told. It was as if he couldn't help himself. Any, and every, time a sound came from the bedroom, Jess tensed. He looked over, waiting to see if any other sound followed that worried him enough to make him rush in there.

Around the fourth time this happened, Daisy finally shook her head and spoke up from her place in the chair adjacent to his.

"I declare, Jess Harper, you do know how to set a body on edge."

Jess pried his eyes from the doorway, processing what she'd said before responding with "I'm-" he blinked, then his face pinched with confusion. "What?"

Daisy sat down the shirt she was sewing by lowering her hands to her lap, she looked directly into Jess' eyes. "If there's even a creak from the bed in there, you fill the whole room with unease. I could see you acting this way if he were deathly ill, but for heaven's sake, Jess!" She chuckled, keeping her voice low as not to disturb a sleeping Slim. "Maybe he has a fever, yes, but it's definitely not the worst I've dealt with. One would think you were a worried spouse!"

Jess stared blankly at the fireplace for a second, then shook his head. "Sorry Daisy," He replied with a sigh. Pointlessly, he tried to re-immerse himself into the book despite the fact that he kept talking. "You shoulda been there when it all happened. I... I don't know. Guess I'm still kinda shook up, which I know is ridiculous." There was a short pause, then he continued. "It's just, I was so sure he was gonna be dead by the time I got back. My nerves are still all fried for some reason," Again, Jess sighed, frowning intensely.

All at once, he seemed to desperately want to explain what was troubling him, as if he wanted someone to give him the answer, the reason, for why he was feeling this way. Yet, at the same time, his tone made it sound like he didn't want to open up and talk about it either, and that frustrated him to no end. "If you just coulda _seen_ him. Barely breathin' by the time I got him on that horse. And I was so afraid I wouldn't stay awake long enough to get him here..." Jess flipped a page, his voice starting to grow more hoarse as he went on. "But he _is_ here, just a few steps away, alive and getting better every second. I know that, but it's like my brain won't understand that. Which is, it's... I know I should be fine by now!" He concluded, firmly.

In a bizarrely surreal moment, Jess suddenly realised that he had somehow gone through eight pages. All without reading a single one, he even noticed the paper was slightly crumpled.

For a few seconds, all that could be heard was the crackling of a dying fire, and Jess' deep breaths. Distantly, there was also the faint sound of Slim snoring.

Jess' heart was pounding, as if he'd just ran a mile. Out of some sort of shame, Jess refused to look up to see Daisy's somber expression, didn't see the flash of understanding that traveled across her eyes. Sweet, old, wise eyes that- after hearing the ache in this man's voice- suddenly saw.

Jess swallowed best as he could, despite the knot that had begun to form in his throat.

"Jess..."

He still didn't look up. Daisy's voice was soft, and quiet. She leant forward, and gently placed a hand on Jess' knee. Jess let out a slightly shaky breath he hadn't noticed he was holding.

"Jess," Daisy said again, this time he looked up at her, just with his eyes. She smiled. A small, soft smile. "He's going to be okay," she nodded while she said this, then her voice turned to a whisper as she spoke deliberately. "It's _all_ going to be okay."

Jess looked down at the book again, but nodded, blinking away the start of tears he'd rather not let go of in front of the woman. They sat in silence, but somehow there was a new feeling within Jess, like the world itself had been lifted from his shoulders. 

__________

 

Time passed, and four days later Slim was on the tail end of his recovery from the fever, the wound on his head had shrunk a considerable amount, and he was up and walking. He griped about being stuck up in the house, mentioned often that he'd much rather be doing something productive with his time. So it wasn't much of a surprise that on the fifth day, Jess looked up from the fence he was working on to see Slim out and, well, not about. Still, he was out, and crookedly making his way around the barn and the chicken coop, taking care of what were arguably the easiest chores.

Jess shook his head, an amused smile found its way on his face as he watched Slim nearly trip over the chickens when they all crowded around him, knowing the bucket he held always resulted in feed being spread around. Jess made his way closer, pretending to work on part of the fencing that clearly didn't need attention. Often he'd glance up, keeping an eye on Slim. A couple of times he thought he saw the other man looking at him, too. If he had, though, he either didn't notice that what Jess was working on was total bull, or didn't bother to mention it. 

At one point, Slim's grip slipped on the bucket, and he dropped it. The remaining feed cascaded everywhere, there was a unanimous sound of alarmed clucking from the chickens as they scattered, then turned back around and dumbly meandered around the feed that had been spilled, pecking at it. Jess suppressed a laugh, and turned his head away just to be sure Slim wouldn't see him smiling. When he looked back up, Slim was attempting to lean down and pick the bucket back up. Almost as soon as he reached down, he winced, and made a sound like he was trying not to cry out from the pain, and failing. Within seconds Jess had walked over to him and helped him straighten back up, then reached for the bucket and handed it to Slim. However, his hand remained on the bucket as Slim took hold of it.

"You alright?" Jess asked, eyes glancing to Slim's chest. He knew the other man had hurt his ribs from leaning down. 

"Yeah, just fine," Slim smiled as Jess let go of the bucket, and instead placed his hand on Slim's arm. 

"Maybe you shouldn't be out doing chores just yet, you ever think of that?" Jess tilted his head slightly. He knew Slim knew he was right. Slim looked him in the eyes for a second, still with a slight smile on his face, and shook his head. He turned around, causing Jess' hand to slip away from Slim's arm and fall to his side, and poured out the 10 or so grains still left in the bucket. 

Then, he started laughing. It started as a small chuckle at first, then grew. Jess frowned, trying not to involuntarily smile from the sound. 

"Hey, what's so funny?" He asked, taking hold of Slim's shoulder and turning him so they faced each other again. 

Between laughs, Slim finally managed to say "You!"

"Me? What's so funny about me?"

The taller man nodded, pointing at Jess. "You've been watching me this whole time, like... Like some mother hen!" 

Jess looked down at the finger Slim had pointed at him, then his eyes snapped back up to Slim's. He pursed his lips as he lightheartedly smacked Slim's shoulder, and finally gave in as he laughed too. 

"Well, can ya blame me?" Jess retorted, matching Slim's smile, "You nearly couldn't stand back up." 

Slim shrugged, admitting that maybe Jess had a point. "I still think I should be getting back in the swing of things, soon enough I'll be doing the regular work, too." 

Jess felt his heart jump as he took a second to appreciate how much Slim's eyes lit up when he smiled. "Alright," Jess gave in, "But don't make fun of me when I try to help you if you're need'n' it."

Then, after Slim had clapped a hand down on Jess' shoulder, squeezing there in a familiar gesture of affection, Jess turned and went on his way to finish his work.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope someone out there enjoyed this. There will be more coming soon. As always, if you see a mistake, feel free to point it out! :D


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